Terry Francona is 'all in' as the Indians' new manager (with video)

Duncan Scott/DScott@News-Herald.com
Tito Francona, second from right, looks on as his son Terry is introduced as the Indians' new manager Monday at Progressive Field. Tito Francona played for the Indians from 1959-1964.

Duncan Scott/DScott@News-Herald.com
New Indians manager Terry Francona is given a jersey Monday by General Manager Chis Antonetti at Progressive Field.

Don't you just love happy endings?

The beginning of what the Indians hope will ultimately be a happy ending for them was a warm and fuzzy Francona feeling.

When 78-year-old Tito Francona, the long-ago Indians outfielder, received a call from his 53-year-old son recently, Terry the younger told Tito the elder he had accepted the job of managing his father's former team.

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"I cried a little," said Terry, a former Tribe player himself (1988). "This is my third stint with the Indians. ... It was emotional."

Monday, the Indians announced they had signed Francona to a four-year contract to be the Tribe's new manager. Based on Francona's $4 million salary in 2011, his last year managing the Red Sox, the Indians are likely paying him $3 million to $4 million per year to lead them to Happyland.

Following Monday's news conference, Francona and General Manager Chris Antonetti left for the team's organizational meetings at the Tribe's spring training home in Goodyear, Ariz., to work on the blueprints for the 2013 team.

"He'll be extremely involved in every decision of consequence," said Antonetti of his new manager.

The Indians, of course, could use some decisions of consequence, after coming off one of the most disastrous years in a decade of decadence competitively.

The four-year contract appears to be the longest such deal ever given to an Indians manager.

Asked about the length of the deal, Francona joked, "I don't know. That's as much as they would give me. Maybe I should have asked for six."

If Francona can do what he did in Boston, it will be worth the wait for Indians officials and fans. Francona managed the Red Sox for eight years, making the playoffs in six of them and winning the World Series in two of those.

The Red Sox, of course, had money and talent.

The Indians have, um, Terry Francona as their new manager.

The new manager is clearly not intimidated by his team's lack of resources.

"Chris went to great lengths early on (in the negotiations) to explain there may be some challenges. That didn't scare me off. I appreciated it," said Francona.

"I made Terry aware of the challenges," said Antonetti. "His response was 'I'm all in.' "

The Indians are coming off a 94-loss season. They normally don't spend big on free agents, and their farm system is depleted at the upper levels.

Francona: What? Me worry?

"I'll be happy taking the players we have," he said.

Francona's why-I-took-a-job-nobody-thought-I'd-take explanation had less to do with the level of the Indians' talent inventory than about the front office in charge of it.

"The two main reasons I took this job were Chris Antonetti and Mark Shapiro," he said. "At the 1999 winter meetings, I was on a treadmill and struck up a conversation with Mark. That led to a relationship that has lasted 12 years. When I got let go (as manager) by the Phillies, Mark reached out to me."

Shapiro hired Francona as a special assistant in 2001. Francona spent a year with the Indians, and he forged a relationship with Shapiro and Antonetti that eventually led to Monday's announcement.

Now the three of them, plus their staffs, will try to put the Indians' roster back together again.

Francona probably faces the biggest challenge. The last team he managed spent freely and always had one of the largest payrolls in the majors. His new team? Not so much.

Francona responded with a joke when asked what a large payroll can do for a manager.

"It can make you an analyst," he said.

Francona had been an analyst with ESPN since getting fired by the Red Sox after the 2011 season.

Will Indians ownership spend a little more freely now that they've brought in a big-ticket name to manage the team?

"I didn't ask for that," said Francona. "My job is to try to get the most out of the players. I don't care about what they are making. I want them to play the game with respect and play it correctly. If we do that, we'll be headed in the right direction."

Clearly, though, the Indians are going to lean on Francona's experience to help them revive the franchise.

"We'll actively seek his views, and everything he brings to the table," said Antonetti.

Francona said he has hit the ground running as the new manager, and has already reached out to 40 players and other members of the organization through phone calls.

As for his coaching staff, he said his first call was to the only other man interviewed for the job he got, Tribe bench coach Sandy Alomar.

It seems likely Alomar will be offered a spot on Francona's staff if Alomar doesn't land a managing job elsewhere. There are two jobs open -- in Boston and Colorado.

"We've spoken to Sandy multiple times the last few days," said Antonetti. "He just wants to make sure this is the right fit. Selfishly, I hope he stays with the organization. But I expect he will get interviews to manage."

As for the makeup of the rest of the coaching staff, Antonetti said the Indians will consider both internal and external candidates.